Chinese Hackers Breach US Treasury in Major Cybersecurity Incident
In a concerning cybersecurity breach, Chinese state-sponsored hackers gained unauthorized access to workstations and unclassified documents within the U.S. Treasury Department. The incident occurred after the hackers compromised a cloud-based service operated by BeyondTrust, a vendor responsible for providing remote technical support to the department.
The Treasury Department labeled the event a "major cybersecurity incident," though specific details about the number of compromised workstations and the nature of the accessed documents remain undisclosed.
The Timeline of the Breach
According to a letter from Aditi Hardikar, Assistant Secretary for Management at the Treasury, the breach came to light on December 8th, 2024. BeyondTrust informed the department that a critical security key used to protect its cloud-based service had been compromised by a sophisticated threat actor.
Using the stolen key, the attackers bypassed security measures, gaining remote access to certain workstations and unclassified files managed by Treasury employees. Subsequent investigations attributed the attack to an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group with links to the Chinese government.
Immediate Response and Investigation
Upon discovering the breach, the Treasury coordinated efforts with multiple federal agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Intelligence Community. Third-party forensic investigators were also enlisted to assess the attack's scope and mitigate further risks.
Hardikar assured lawmakers that the compromised service has been taken offline and emphasized there is no evidence suggesting the hackers still have access to Treasury systems or information.
BeyondTrust Vulnerability Exploited
BeyondTrust acknowledged the vulnerability that led to the breach, revealing a critical-severity flaw (CVE-2024-12356) in its Privileged Remote Access (PRA) and Remote Support (RS) products. On December 5th, a root cause analysis identified a compromised API key for the Remote Support SaaS platform. The company immediately revoked the key, alerted affected customers, and suspended impacted instances while providing alternative solutions.
Broader Context: Escalating Cyber Threats
The Treasury breach is part of a broader surge in Chinese cyberespionage activities targeting U.S. infrastructure. Earlier reports detailed a campaign dubbed “Salt Typhoon,” which enabled Beijing to intercept private communications, including text messages and phone conversations, of numerous Americans.
On Friday, U.S. officials disclosed that at least nine telecommunications companies have been affected by Salt Typhoon, marking an escalation in the scope and sophistication of Chinese cyber operations.
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